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= Package repository with Linux vanilla kernels for Fedora =  
= Package repository with Linux vanilla kernels for Fedora =  


This page contains information about a [http://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/ set of repositories] which contain RPM packages with Linux vanilla kernels built for Fedora. 'Vanilla' in this scope means 'unmodified'. In other words: the sources used to compile those kernels come straight from kernel.org and do not contain any of the enhancements which the official Fedora kernels contain.
The [http://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/ Fedora kernel vanilla repositories] offer various RPM packages that contain vanilla builds of different Linux kernel version lines. These packages are meant for Fedora users that want to access the latest stable or pre-releases of Linux quickly and comfortably. In addition, one of the repositories is meant for users who want to check if problems they face are specific to the Fedora kernel or present in the upstream kernel as well.


= How to use these repos =
= How to use these repos =


== How to use, the quick (aka TLDR) verison ==
== How to use, the TLDR version ==


Download the definitions for the Kernel vanilla repositories:  
Download the definitions for the Kernel vanilla repositories:  
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</pre>
</pre>


Run this to get the latest development kernel:
Run this to install the latest mainline (aka pre-release) kernel:
<pre>
<pre>
sudo dnf --enablerepo=kernel-vanilla-mainline update
sudo dnf --enablerepo=kernel-vanilla-mainline update
</pre>
</pre>


You don't want to run a development kernel and want the latest stable kernel instead? Then run this:
Run this if you want the latest stable kernel instead:
<pre>
<pre>
sudo dnf --enablerepo=kernel-vanilla-stable update
sudo dnf --enablerepo=kernel-vanilla-stable update
</pre>
</pre>


Reboot. That's it – at least most of the time, as sometimes it's not that easy:
Run this if you want the a vanilla build of the latest Fedora kernel:
<pre>
sudo dnf --enablerepo=kernel-vanilla-fedora update
</pre>
 
Reboot. That's it – at least often, as sometimes additional steps are necessary:


* Is UEFI Secure Boot active on your system? Then you have to disable it in your BIOS Setup to run kernels from these repos, as they are not signed with a key that a default Secure Boot setup considers trusted.
* Is UEFI Secure Boot active on your system (<code>mokutil --sb-state</code> will tell you)? In that case you have to disable it in your BIOS Setup or via <code>mokutil --disable-validation</code>. This is required to run kernels from these repositories, as they are not signed with a key that a typical systems trust.


* Nothing gets installed by the "dnf update"-command? Then the version of the latest kernel package installed on your machine is higher than the version of the latest kernel packagers offered in the chosen kernel-vanilla repository.  
* The newly installed kernel will normally get started by default. If that's not the case there likely is something fishy with your boot configuration. For example, if you start Fedora using a boot manger from a different Linux install you'll have to boot into the latter and update its boot loader configuration; in Ubuntu you for example do that by running <code>update-grub</code>.  


* The newly installed kernel should get started by default. If that's not the case there is something fishy in your boot configuration. For example, if you start Fedora using a boot manger from a different distribution you'll have to boot into that one and update its boot loader configuration to start the newly installed kernel; in Ubuntu you do that by running <code>update-grub</code>.
* The "dnf update"-command doesn't offer anything to install? Then the version of the latest kernel package installed on your machine is higher than the version of the latest kernel packagers offered in the chosen kernel-vanilla repository. Then the maintainers of the latter might are lagging behind (they sometimes are on holiday, too), hence it might be the best to stick to the kernel your have.


Optionally run
If you just want to use kernels from the vanilla repositories for a short test make sure you boot into the stock Fedora kernel again once you finished your tests. After that you can uninstall the vanilla kernel packages with a comment like <code>sudo dnf remove $(rpm -qa 'kernel*' | grep '.vanilla.knurd' )</code> and everything will be as before.
<pre>
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled kernel-vanilla-mainline
</pre>


or
If you like to permanently use kernels from these repos you might want to run one of these commands, depending on the which type of kernels you want:


<pre>
<pre>
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled kernel-vanilla-mainline
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled kernel-vanilla-stable
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled kernel-vanilla-stable
</pre>
</pre>


if you want to enable one of those repos permanently. They are the two main repos this page is about. There are three more for special use cases. For details see below.
That way "dnf" will automatically install the latest packages from those repositories.
 
Note: This TLDR-instructions focused on the two main repositories. There are more for other use cases described below. Also make sure to read the [[Kernel_Vanilla_Repositories-FAQ|FAQ]].


== How to use, the verbose version ==
== How to use, the verbose version ==
Line 56: Line 61:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
!style="vertical-align:top;"|repository
!style="width: 15%;"|repository
!description
!style="width: 35%;"|description
!target users
!style="width: 30%;"|target users
!example versions
!style="width: 15%;"|example versions
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| kernel-vanilla-mainline
| kernel-vanilla-mainline
| the latest kernels from the Linux mainline series
| a pre-release or git-snapshot from Linux main development branch
| those who want the latest mainline kernel
| those who want the latest mainline Linux
| 4.4, 4.5-rc0-git1, 4.5-rc1, 4.5-rc1-git2
| 4.4, 4.5-rc0-git1, 4.5-rc1, 4.5-rc1-git2
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| kernel-vanilla-mainline-wo-mergew
| kernel-vanilla-mainline-wo-mergew
| the latest kernels from the Linux mainline series, except during the merge window, when it might contain the latest stable kernel.
| similar to the kernel-vanilla-mainline repo, except during the merge window, when it will contain the latest released mainline kernel or a stable kernel based on it
| those who want the latest mainline kernel, but want to avoid development versions from the merge window (like 4.5-rc0-git1) – that the phase in the development cycle when the bulk of changes get merged for a new kernel version
| those who want the latest mainline kernel, but want to avoid development versions from the merge window (like 4.5-rc0-git1) – that the phase in the development cycle when the bulk of changes get merged for a new kernel version
| 4.4, 4.4.1, 4.5-rc1, 4.5-rc1-git2
| 4.4, 4.4.1, 4.5-rc1, 4.5-rc1-git2
Line 74: Line 79:
| the latest non-development version from the mainline or stable kernel series
| the latest non-development version from the mainline or stable kernel series
| those who want the latest Linux stable kernel
| those who want the latest Linux stable kernel
| 4.4, 4.4.1
| 4.4, 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| kernel-vanilla-stable-rc
| the latest non-development version from the mainline or stable kernel series, but also kernels from the stable series that are about to get released
| those who want to help testing new stable kernels
| 4.4, 4.4.1, 4.4.2-rc1
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| kernel-vanilla-fedora
| kernel-vanilla-fedora
| contains a vanilla build of the latest kernel which Fedora currently ships or has in its update queue; most of the time this repository will contain the same kernels as kernel-vanilla-stable, except for times when Fedora hasn't yet jumped to the latest major version
| contains a vanilla build of the latest kernel which Fedora currently ships or has in its update queue; most of the time this repository will contain the same kernels as kernel-vanilla-stable, except for times when Fedora hasn't yet jumped to the latest version released from the mainline series.
| those who want to check if a vanilla kernel shows the same bug or behavior as the Fedora kernel
| those who want to check if a vanilla kernel shows the same bug or behaviour as the Fedora kernel
| 4.4, 4.4.1
| 4.3.12, 4.3.13, 4.4.3, 4.4.4
|}
|}


Chose which one of those you want to use. The following examples assume you want to use the <code>
Decide yourself which one of those you want to use. The following examples assume you want to use the <code>
kernel-vanilla-mainline</code> repository, hence adjust the commands if you want to use a different repository.  
kernel-vanilla-mainline</code> repository, hence you need to adjust the commands to use a different repository.


=== Install a kernel from the repository ===
=== Install a kernel from the repository ===


Run this command to install the latest mainline kernel from the kernel vanilla repos:
Run this command to install the latest kernel from the kernel vanilla mainline repo:
<pre>
<pre>
sudo dnf --enablerepo=kernel-vanilla-mainline update
sudo dnf --enablerepo=kernel-vanilla-mainline update
Line 107: Line 107:
<pre>
<pre>
Retrieving key from https://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/RPM-GPG-KEY-knurd-kernel-vanilla
Retrieving key from https://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/RPM-GPG-KEY-knurd-kernel-vanilla
Importing GPG key 0xCC9DBCAB:
Importing GPG key 0x863625FA:
  Userid    : "Thorsten Leemhuis (Key for signing vanilla kernel rpms) <fedora@leemhuis.info>"
  Userid    : "Thorsten Leemhuis (Key for signing vanilla kernel rpms) <fedora@leemhuis.info>"
  Fingerprint: e5e8 d53e e5af be95 633d 690f d792 7a2f cc9d bcab
  Fingerprint: 7C71 B4C9 BF71 7876 635F 3205 4534 BEED 8636 25FA
  From      : https://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/RPM-GPG-KEY-knurd-kernel-vanilla
  From      : https://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/RPM-GPG-KEY-knurd-kernel-vanilla
Is this ok [y/N]:  
Is this ok [y/N]:  
Line 120: Line 120:
Please be aware that
Please be aware that


* none of the developers that maintain the Fedora kernel is involved in the maintenance of the kernel vanilla repos for Fedora
* none of the developers that maintain the Fedora kernel is involved in the maintenance of the Fedora kernel vanilla repositories
* most systems work better and are run in a more secure manner with the official Fedora kernels
* most systems work better and run in a more secure manner with the official Fedora kernels
* if you don't know what above commands do then you likely should not use these repos or its packages
* if you don't understand what above commands do then you likely should not use these repositories or its packages


= More details about the kernel vanilla repos =
= More details about the kernel vanilla repos =
Line 128: Line 128:
== What kernel versions do the repos currently contain? ==
== What kernel versions do the repos currently contain? ==


Look at [http://www.leemhuis.info/files/kernel-vanilla/repostatus.txt this file] or cut'n'paste these lines if you want to query the latest status yourself:
Look at [http://www.leemhuis.info/files/kernel-vanilla/repostatus.txt this file] or execute this scrpt if you want to query the latest status locally:


<pre>
<pre>
releases="25 24 23 22"; branches="mainline mainline-wo-mergew stable-rc stable fedora"; \
releases="29 28 27 26"; branches="mainline mainline-wo-mergew stable fedora"; \
for branch in ${branches} ; do for release in ${releases} ; do
for branch in ${branches} ; do for release in ${releases} ; do
   queryresult=$(dnf repoquery --repofrompath=repo,http://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/kernel-vanilla-${branch}/fedora-${release}/x86_64/ --disablerepo=* --enablerepo=repo --available --latest-limit=1 -q kernel 2>/dev/null)
   queryresult=$(dnf repoquery --repofrompath=repo,http://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/kernel-vanilla-${branch}/fedora-${release}/x86_64/ --disablerepo=* --enablerepo=repo --available --latest-limit=1 -q kernel 2>/dev/null)
Line 148: Line 148:
sudo dnf remove $(rpm -qa 'kernel*' | grep '.vanilla.knurd' )
sudo dnf remove $(rpm -qa 'kernel*' | grep '.vanilla.knurd' )
</pre>
</pre>
DNF will then show what is about to get uninstalled; review that list carefully and better abort if something looks fishy.   
DNF will then show what is about to get uninstalled; review that list carefully and make sure you still have a none vanilla kernel on your system, otherwise you loose the ability to boot your installation. Better abort if something looks fishy.   


== What is the goal of these repositories? Are these kernels as good as those Fedora provides? ==
== What is the goal of these repositories? Are these kernels as good as those Fedora provides? ==


These and other questions are [[Kernel_Vanilla_Repositories-FAQ|answered in the FAQ about the kernel vanilla repositories]].
These and many other questions are [[Kernel_Vanilla_Repositories-FAQ|answered in the FAQ about the kernel vanilla repositories]].


= Known issues and differences =
= Known issues and differences =
Line 160: Line 160:
== General ==
== General ==


* No issues known.
* none known
 
== F22 ==
 
* Kernels and modules do not get signed until the new pesign hits the updates repositories


= ToDo list =
= ToDo list =


* enable some of the staging drivers Fedora avoids (basically those a well known add-on repository for Fedora ships as add-on package)
* enable some of the staging drivers Fedora avoids
* automate builds more to keep repos more up2date
* automate builds more to keep repos more up2date
* automate builds for stable-testing kernels
* create stable-testing repo

Revision as of 20:24, 6 April 2018

Package repository with Linux vanilla kernels for Fedora

The Fedora kernel vanilla repositories offer various RPM packages that contain vanilla builds of different Linux kernel version lines. These packages are meant for Fedora users that want to access the latest stable or pre-releases of Linux quickly and comfortably. In addition, one of the repositories is meant for users who want to check if problems they face are specific to the Fedora kernel or present in the upstream kernel as well.

How to use these repos

How to use, the TLDR version

Download the definitions for the Kernel vanilla repositories:

curl -s https://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/kernel-vanilla.repo | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/kernel-vanilla.repo

Run this to install the latest mainline (aka pre-release) kernel:

sudo dnf --enablerepo=kernel-vanilla-mainline update

Run this if you want the latest stable kernel instead:

sudo dnf --enablerepo=kernel-vanilla-stable update

Run this if you want the a vanilla build of the latest Fedora kernel:

sudo dnf --enablerepo=kernel-vanilla-fedora update

Reboot. That's it – at least often, as sometimes additional steps are necessary:

  • Is UEFI Secure Boot active on your system (mokutil --sb-state will tell you)? In that case you have to disable it in your BIOS Setup or via mokutil --disable-validation. This is required to run kernels from these repositories, as they are not signed with a key that a typical systems trust.
  • The newly installed kernel will normally get started by default. If that's not the case there likely is something fishy with your boot configuration. For example, if you start Fedora using a boot manger from a different Linux install you'll have to boot into the latter and update its boot loader configuration; in Ubuntu you for example do that by running update-grub.
  • The "dnf update"-command doesn't offer anything to install? Then the version of the latest kernel package installed on your machine is higher than the version of the latest kernel packagers offered in the chosen kernel-vanilla repository. Then the maintainers of the latter might are lagging behind (they sometimes are on holiday, too), hence it might be the best to stick to the kernel your have.

If you just want to use kernels from the vanilla repositories for a short test make sure you boot into the stock Fedora kernel again once you finished your tests. After that you can uninstall the vanilla kernel packages with a comment like sudo dnf remove $(rpm -qa 'kernel*' | grep '.vanilla.knurd' ) and everything will be as before.

If you like to permanently use kernels from these repos you might want to run one of these commands, depending on the which type of kernels you want:

sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled kernel-vanilla-mainline
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled kernel-vanilla-stable

That way "dnf" will automatically install the latest packages from those repositories.

Note: This TLDR-instructions focused on the two main repositories. There are more for other use cases described below. Also make sure to read the FAQ.

How to use, the verbose version

Configure the repositories

First download the repository definitions for DNF:

curl -s https://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/kernel-vanilla.repo | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/kernel-vanilla.repo

This will install a repo file with following repos:

repository description target users example versions
kernel-vanilla-mainline a pre-release or git-snapshot from Linux main development branch those who want the latest mainline Linux 4.4, 4.5-rc0-git1, 4.5-rc1, 4.5-rc1-git2
kernel-vanilla-mainline-wo-mergew similar to the kernel-vanilla-mainline repo, except during the merge window, when it will contain the latest released mainline kernel or a stable kernel based on it those who want the latest mainline kernel, but want to avoid development versions from the merge window (like 4.5-rc0-git1) – that the phase in the development cycle when the bulk of changes get merged for a new kernel version 4.4, 4.4.1, 4.5-rc1, 4.5-rc1-git2
kernel-vanilla-stable the latest non-development version from the mainline or stable kernel series those who want the latest Linux stable kernel 4.4, 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3
kernel-vanilla-fedora contains a vanilla build of the latest kernel which Fedora currently ships or has in its update queue; most of the time this repository will contain the same kernels as kernel-vanilla-stable, except for times when Fedora hasn't yet jumped to the latest version released from the mainline series. those who want to check if a vanilla kernel shows the same bug or behaviour as the Fedora kernel 4.3.12, 4.3.13, 4.4.3, 4.4.4

Decide yourself which one of those you want to use. The following examples assume you want to use the kernel-vanilla-mainline repository, hence you need to adjust the commands to use a different repository.

Install a kernel from the repository

Run this command to install the latest kernel from the kernel vanilla mainline repo:

sudo dnf --enablerepo=kernel-vanilla-mainline update

Alternatively you can permanently enable that repository to make DNF automatically install new kernel packages when updating the system:

sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled kernel-vanilla-mainline
sudo dnf update

When you install a kernel from the repository for the first time DNF will ask you if you trust the public key that is used to verify the signature of the packages from the kernel vanilla repositories. It will look like this:

Retrieving key from https://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/RPM-GPG-KEY-knurd-kernel-vanilla
Importing GPG key 0x863625FA:
 Userid     : "Thorsten Leemhuis (Key for signing vanilla kernel rpms) <fedora@leemhuis.info>"
 Fingerprint: 7C71 B4C9 BF71 7876 635F 3205 4534 BEED 8636 25FA
 From       : https://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/RPM-GPG-KEY-knurd-kernel-vanilla
Is this ok [y/N]: 

DNF will proceed once you acknowledge this.

Important notes

Please be aware that

  • none of the developers that maintain the Fedora kernel is involved in the maintenance of the Fedora kernel vanilla repositories
  • most systems work better and run in a more secure manner with the official Fedora kernels
  • if you don't understand what above commands do then you likely should not use these repositories or its packages

More details about the kernel vanilla repos

What kernel versions do the repos currently contain?

Look at this file or execute this scrpt if you want to query the latest status locally:

releases="29 28 27 26"; branches="mainline mainline-wo-mergew stable fedora"; \
for branch in ${branches} ; do for release in ${releases} ; do
  queryresult=$(dnf repoquery --repofrompath=repo,http://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/thl/kernel-vanilla-${branch}/fedora-${release}/x86_64/ --disablerepo=* --enablerepo=repo --available --latest-limit=1 -q kernel 2>/dev/null)
  echo "${branch} ${release} ${queryresult:-not_available}" 
done; done | column -t | sed 's!kernel-0:!!; s!.x86_64!!;'

Who is behind this effort?

Right now the kernel vanilla repositories for Fedora are maintained by Thorsten Leemhuis (aka "knurd") only. Maybe over time people join to help, that's why this text is written as if a team is keeping care of the repositories.

How can I uninstall all kernels from the kernel vanilla repositories

Boot into a stock Fedora kernel and run

sudo dnf remove $(rpm -qa 'kernel*' | grep '.vanilla.knurd' )

DNF will then show what is about to get uninstalled; review that list carefully and make sure you still have a none vanilla kernel on your system, otherwise you loose the ability to boot your installation. Better abort if something looks fishy.

What is the goal of these repositories? Are these kernels as good as those Fedora provides?

These and many other questions are answered in the FAQ about the kernel vanilla repositories.

Known issues and differences

The following sections will list differences to Fedora's proper kernel packages that might be relevant to users. It will also list known problems specific to the packaging of the vanilla kernels.

General

  • none known

ToDo list

  • enable some of the staging drivers Fedora avoids
  • automate builds more to keep repos more up2date
* create stable-testing repo